Senior Principal Product Owner

clarityinnovates; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 108,000 - 267,000; Full time

Job summary

Clarity Innovations in Herndon, VA is seeking an experienced Product Owner to bridge Air Force stakeholders, development teams, and end users to ensure the delivery of high-quality products that meet business and customer needs.

You will drive vision, strategy, and a data-driven backlog, write detailed user stories with acceptance criteria, and communicate effectively with senior leaders to align roadmaps with business goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (Business, Computer Science, Engineering, etc.)
• At least 7 years of product management experience
• Strong understanding of Agile development methodologies
• Strong Lean product management knowledge
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience leading products from idea to market
• Experience with user-centered design and usability testing
• Experience in stakeholder management, communication, and presentation
• Experience working in a balanced, cross-functional team in rapid iterations
• Experience balancing customer and user feedback

Responsibilities

• Own and communicate the Product Vision, strategy, and backlog aligned with business goals.
• Facilitate stakeholder meetings and communicate the vision to executives.
• Make timely decisions on features, scope, and priorities based on feedback.
• Prioritize the product backlog to maximize business value.
• Create detailed user stories with acceptance criteria for development.
• Bridge stakeholders and the dev team to reflect needs in the backlog.

Skills

Product ownership

Agile development

Lean product management

Communication

Stakeholder management

User-centered design

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Computer Science, or Engineering

Job description

Clarity Innovations is a trusted national security partner, dedicated to safeguarding our nation's interests and delivering innovative solutions that empower the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) to transform data into actionable intelligence, ensuring mission success in an evolving world.

Our mission-first software and data engineering platform modernizes data operations, utilizing advanced workflows, CI/CD, and secure DevSecOps practices. We focus on challenges in Information Warfare, Cyber Operations, Operational Security, and Data Structuring, enabling end-to-end solutions that drive operational impact.

We are committed to delivering cutting-edge tools and capabilities that address the most complex national security challenges, empowering our partners to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensuring the success of their critical missions. At Clarity, we are people-focused and set on being a destination employer for top talent, offering an environment where innovation thrives, careers grow, and individuals are valued. Join us as we continue to lead innovation and tackle the most pressing challenges in national security.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced and creative Product Owner to join our dynamic team. As a Product Owner at Clarity Innovations, you will play a pivotal role in the development and success of our products. You will act as the bridge between US Air Force stakeholders, development teams, and end users to ensure the delivery of high-quality products that meet both business and customer needs. This role requires a strategic mindset, strong communication skills, and a passion for driving product excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the Product Vision: Clearly define and articulate the long-term vision and goals for the product, aligning them with the overall business strategy. Tell a compelling story for audiences of all levels including senior executives. Establish the product's vision, strategy, outcome-driven roadmap, and product backlog.
• Facilitate and Communicate: Drive the narrative in both verbal and written communication. Facilitate meetings with team members and stakeholders, communicating effectively at the senior, most executive levels of the Department of the Air Force and using methods your audience will participate in. Communicate the vision, strategy, roadmap, and backlog to different audiences with a tailored message they will understand.
• Decision Making and Problem Solving: Make timely and informed decisions on product features, scope, and priorities based on input from stakeholders, market analysis, and feedback from design and development on your team. Identify pain points and opportunities for the team and be proactive in actioning towards resolutions.
• Work Prioritization: Lead and influence a balanced cross-functional team in daily activities to execute against a vision. Maintain and prioritize the product backlog, ensuring that it reflects the highest business value and is aligned with the product vision.
• User Story Creation: Document and package detailed operational requirements and experiences. Write clear and detailed user stories with acceptance criteria to communicate product requirements to the development team. Champion user-centered design philosophy within the internal product team and externally with customers.
• Strategic Stakeholder Communication: Act as a bridge between stakeholders and the development team, ensuring that stakeholders' needs and expectations are understood and incorporated into the product backlog. Communicate sophisticated ideas, anticipating potential objections, and persuading others, often at senior levels, to adopt a different point of view

Minimum Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (Business, Computer Science, Engineering, etc.)
• At least 7 years of relevant work experience in Product Management.
• Strong understanding of Agile development methodologies.
• Strong understanding of Lean Product Management principles.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience with leading products from idea to market
• Experience with user-centered design, concept and usability testing, and other research methods
• Experience in stakeholder management, communication, and presentation
• Experience working in a balanced team to build, measure, and learn
• Experience working in a rapid and iterative development environment
• Experience balancing customer and user feedback to create a desirable solutions

Preferred

• Knowledge of US Air Force digital services trends and emerging technologies
• Experience providing input on product decisions through user research, customer development, and iterative feedback loops
• Experience in the design and/or development of full-service applications

Salary Range

$108,000 - $267,000

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, s